LAS VEGAS — New Orleans transfer MJ Thomas is heading to UNLV, giving the Rebels a young frontcourt piece with clear production and a skill set that directly addresses one of the biggest needs on the roster. Rebel fans have been waiting for this kind of addition, and the numbers back up the excitement.
Thomas arrives with two years of proven production at New Orleans, and that matters. As a freshman, he played 31 games with 27 starts, averaging 11.2 points and 7.8 rebounds while shooting 48.2 percent from the field. This past season, he played 32 games with 30 starts, averaged 10.8 points and 8.0 rebounds, and improved his field-goal percentage to 53.1 percent. The efficiency went up, the rebounding held, and he attempted 146 free throws this season alone. He gets deep into the paint, he draws contact and he converts. That is the kind of year-two development you want to see when projecting a player’s next step. That is the kind of player this program has needed.
The averages, though, only tell part of the story. Thomas put together performances that pushed well beyond normal mid-major production. He set a school record for rebounds by a freshman in a conference game with 18 against East Texas A&M. He matched the New Orleans freshman scoring record with 32 points at UIW, a mark that had stood since 1979. He was one of only three freshmen nationally with a game of at least 18 rebounds and one of only eight freshmen in the country with a 32-point game. His 3.06 offensive rebounds per game ranked 41st in the NCAA and first in the Southland, while his overall rebounding ranked 76th nationally. That is not simply a strong Southland profile. That is production with national markers attached to it. Rebel fans paying attention to the portal should have circled this name the moment it dropped.
The games against better competition helped answer the obvious follow-up question. Thomas scored 17 points with eight rebounds against a top-five Houston program. He had 13 points against Mississippi State while going 7-for-7 at the free-throw line. He elevated in the Southland Tournament, averaging 13.5 points and 13.0 rebounds. Those are the kinds of performances evaluators pay attention to because they help answer whether numbers are system-driven or player-driven. Against Houston and Mississippi State, the answer was clear. This is not a player who wilts when the lights get brighter.
The background reinforces that evaluation. Thomas is from Calvert, Texas. He went to Link Academy, one of the more respected prep programs in the country, and was coached by his father all four years of high school varsity ball. He led Calvert to a state championship game appearance, was named All-State and MVP, made the ESPN Texas Top 25 and was a McDonald’s All-American nominee. Texas Tech and Oklahoma State offered him out of high school. Programs knew about him. This was not a hidden player who surfaced late. There has been a track record of belief in the talent, and he chose New Orleans anyway. That was a decision, not a default. Now he is choosing UNLV, and that should mean something to this fanbase.
That matters even more because Thomas is still early in his development. A sophomore with two years of proven college production is a different kind of portal addition than an older one-year breakout player. There is established performance, but there is also real room for growth. That combination is part of what makes this addition so exciting. There is a reason bigger programs were monitoring him as well. Houston had eyes there. That does not define a player, but it reinforces the evaluation that the traits translate beyond the level he came from. UNLV got here first, and that is worth appreciating.
On the court, Thomas brings a clear identity. He is a paint scorer and a high-level rebounder. He does not stretch the floor, with fewer than five three-point attempts across two full college seasons, and that is not really the point of his game. His value comes from how he scores and how he creates extra possessions. He is a cutter, a finisher and a player who gets to his spots, draws contact and converts. The 53.1 percent field-goal mark and 146 free-throw attempts tell you the shot selection is efficient and the interior pressure is real. That is not accidental production. That is a repeatable skill set built around doing the same things consistently and doing them well. The Thomas and Mack will love watching this guy work.
The rebounding is what separates him, and it is the thing Rebel fans have been starving for. Motor, positioning and second-jump ability tend to translate across competition levels, and Thomas has shown all three over two full seasons. Those traits are difficult to teach and even harder to fake over time. His offensive rebounding ranked in the top 50 nationally as a freshman, and the pursuit and positioning that produced those numbers did not disappear in year two. They held. That consistency matters as much as the raw numbers. Every second-chance point he creates is a possession this program was leaving on the floor a season ago.
There is developmental upside beyond that foundation. There is room for his offensive game to expand, whether through more face-up elements, more polish as a passer out of the short roll or improved decision-making when defenses load up. He has shown he can move the ball when help comes. The feel is there, but making it consistent is the next step. He does not need those things to contribute right away. The baseline tools that made him productive are already established, and they are the ones UNLV actually needs most. The ceiling on this addition is genuinely high.
The competition jump is a real question, and it is worth being honest about. The Mountain West is longer and more physical than the Southland, the paint is tighter and the windows close faster. How quickly the offensive game adjusts to that level is something to watch. But rebounding, physicality and motor tend to travel, which is why there is confidence the fit can work even as the adjustment happens. Thomas is not coming here to figure things out from scratch. He is coming here with a proven foundation.
That is where the UNLV angle comes in. The Rebels needed more frontcourt stability, more physicality and more consistent work on the glass. Anyone who watched this team last season knows exactly what was missing down low. Thomas addresses all three. He is not a finished product, and this does not solve every roster question, but it does give UNLV a player whose strengths align directly with a real need. This is the kind of move that makes an offseason feel like it is actually going somewhere.
That is why this move stands out. UNLV did not just add production. It added a frontcourt piece whose strengths match what the roster was missing, and that is how smart portal additions are supposed to look. Welcome to Las Vegas, MJ.